The Crash: Book Two - Heart on Fire

Chapter Fifteen: Heart on Fire

Angela

"Eyes blue and hollow. As it rains against their will. Feathers falling out of the pillow. As if time is standing still. I can't remember much more.

But I know it happened quiet. So Quiet."

- Aurora (It Happened Quiet)

Saturday, September 17, 2005

Frozen rain fell from the dark clouds that spread all the way to the horizon. From across a frozen expanse of field a monster was staring at me. His blood red eyes seemed to be peering into me, searching so deeply that it felt like he was god passing judgment over my soul. Except no creature with eyes that cold and unfeeling could be holy. The face encircling those hateful eyes was vicious, devoid of the compassion I would ever attribute to god.

I searched my surroundings, suddenly unsure of where I was. But the dark unknown woods skirting the field were as much of a comfort as the demon standing before me. I wasn't safe, and no one was coming to save me. As I stood shivering in the rain and cold, deep shadows began to grow from the blacked spaces between the trees. They felt like wrathful ghosts come to claim the tatters of my terrified soul, ferrying me to whatever hell they came from.

I hesitated to look at him again, but the shades standing sentry just across the tree line waiting for my death, were even more difficult to behold. Yet when I did look back towards my pursuer I had to stifle a gasp. Where he stepped, the snow melted and the brown earth began to char in an ever-expanding circle under his feet. How unnatural was he to be such a blight? The fact that this monster had a name was irrelevant, his intentions were plain. His goal was to take me body and soul. How could I defend against something so distinctly inhuman?

He didn't even look like a monster. Stringy blonde hair pulled into a simple ponytail. A mostly handsome face that I would have found attractive had he been something else. His dirty clothes were threadbare and he was barefoot. Not that his ordinary appearance changed anything; he was going to kill me.

"Help me!" I screamed in desperation.

Then I noticed that my would-be family was suddenly surrounding me, yet even their presence couldn't break his grip on my soul. Within that demonic stare, I felt utterly alone. I looked to Bella to reassure me but found her absorbed by Rosalie, her bright red eyes glowing and bewitching her. So Bella had abandoned me to face mortality and death alone, as she ventured into the realms of immortality and blood.

I looked back at my adversary, meeting his eyes with a second wind of determination. Only to be startled when I found a beautiful set of mismatched irises. Mason had taken James's place; yet instead of his cool demeanor and open smile, I was met with a malignant grin and sadistic glint in his eyes.

Now it was Mason that wanted to consume me, to swallow me whole, soul and all. I shuddered, because I knew if he asked, I would let him, not that there was anything I could do to stop him from just taking me. Yet even though it felt hopeless, somewhere deep inside I could feel some fight left within me. It was small, like a flickering candle sitting in a thunderstorm, but I knew it could grow. So I started trying to force that inner struggle to reach my legs, and to my joy I found myself running.

Except I wasn't running away, but towards him like a lamb running into the maw of a lion.

Then our lips met, and a coldness descended over my flesh. From lips to toes, I was changed in an instant. At that moment I realized I had become a monster like him. His hand traced the lines of my face down my neck and onto my shoulder. Then he turned me around slowly.